Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1977, 2, 29-39
Self-image and job satisfaction of tiie Nigerian nurse: a comparative study D. C. E. Ugwuegbu B.A. M.A. Ph.D. (Psychology) Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University oJ Ibadan
Winifred M. Ogundeyin S.R.N. S.C.M. O.N.C. C.I.(Ed.) B.Sc. M.S. (Nursing) Lecturer, Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan Accepted for publication 17 August
igy6
UGWUEGBU D . C . E . & OGUNDEYIN WINIFRED M . [1977) Journal of Advanced Nursing 2, 29-39
Self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse: a comparative study Congruity or lack of it between the perception of student and professional nurses about the self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse was examined. The expectation was that as a result of the socialization processes involved in nursing education, the student nurse and the senior nursing professionals (who are the socializing agents) should not differ significantly on their ratings on the self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse. The subjects were 30 male and female student nurses and 23 male and female professional nurses who scored the Self-Image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) and the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The results showed that the student and the professional nurses were minimally differentiated in their perception of the self-image of the Nigerian nurse. On the whole the student nurses were more dissatisfied with nursing than the professional nurses. The occupational position of the student nurse was said to have been partially responsible for the differences.
REVIEW OF T H E
LITERATURE
The nursing profession is one of the earliest western type of occupations that was open to Nigerian women. It is a profession that is held in high esteem by most Nigerians (Davitz 1972a). In nursing, more women than men hold the top administrative positions as well as the general staff level positions. This is contrary to what obtains in other so-called women's professions such as teaching where the top positions are held by men (Ugwuegbu 1968). The nursing profession in Nigeria has a history of religious orientation. That is, until recently, most of the hospital-orientated institutions of nursing education were church affiliated. The church orientation of these institutions may be 29
30
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
responsible for the traditional, conservative and authoritarian stance, vnth emphasis on humanitarianism, which is often adopted by the nursing profession.
Congmence The professional nurse acts as the guardian of values basic to the effective practice of nursing in Nigeria. The nurse roles are defined by the matrons and other members of the senior nursing staff while the student nurse is expected to conform to these professional expectations. Non-conformity to the expectations may result in the student's expulsion from the programme. To minimize risking such an undesirable consequence a young Nigerian girl who enters an institution for nursing education undergoes major changes in modes of behaviour, interpersonal relationships and role expectations (Stein 1969). Such changes are aimed at the achievement of congruence between the student nurse's self-image and the professional image. Achievement of congruence may reduce conflict, stress, and increase adjustment and job satisfaction of tlie nurse.
Professional socialization O'Rourke (1963) investigated the impact of educational environment upon the development of a professional self-image. The results revealed that the student nurse tended to choose nursing as a career with an ill-defined image of the profession. She also observed that the professional development of the students was a 'gradual process which developed in a fairly observable sequence from generalized societal concepts of nursing to personal identification with a professional view point'. In one of her interesting studies on the Nigerian student nurses Davitz (1972 a & b) showed that the first to third years of training for the Nigerian nurse could be considered a period of socialization during which the greater demands made on the student served as anticipatory socialization into her future role as a nurse. The generality of the implied socialization processes involved in nursing education is supported by O'Neill (1975) who showed that the most similarity in nursing students' and faculty members' values occurred during the junior year, with progressive dissimilarity in the nurses' senior year. Olesen & Davis (1966) questioned the assumption that professional socialization induced among students a greater consensus of outlook on their chosen profession, along with a closer psychological 'fit' between what they perceive and value in the profession. The validity of Olesen & Davis's position is questionable since it is inconsistent with the massive literature in psychology which shows that professional socialization leads to intemalization of the values and attitudes of the socializing agent on whom the redpient is in effect dependent. Lack of congruence or failure to internalize is regarded as stressful (Argyris 1964, Bidwell i955. Ugwuegbu 1968). Rassmussen & Zander (1954) showed that those subjects who conformed to the expectations of the group felt more successful than those who did not. Recently O'Neill (1975) indicated that when an adolescent chose a
Self-image and fob satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse career the tendency was to incorporate his future occupational status into his present self-image. O'Neill's conclusion is very pertinent to the present study. Our study assumed that as the training or education of the Nigerian student nurse progressed, the student's perception of her professional image as well as her job satisfaction would tend to attain congruence with those of the socializing agents (teachers and administrators). Purpose of the study The general purpose of the present study was, therefore, to assess how similar to the values of the senior nursing personnel are those of the students; and whether there are some psychological 'fits' between the way the professional nursing personnel perceive and rate the image of the nursing profession and job satisfaction within the profession and the way student nurses do. The student nurses would be expected to be higher on their ratings on self-image of the nurse than the professional nurses since the students' ideal image of the profession has been subjected to less reality testing as compared to that of the professional nurses. The students' rating ofjob satisfaction would be lower than that of the professional nurses. The greater job dissatisfaction among the student nurses would result from the fact of their being occupants of the lowest position in the hospital hierarchy ofauthority and decision-making (Ugwuegbu 1974). As compared with the professional nurses the position of the student nurses provides them with less opportunities for creative and challenging work than the professionals. White & Maguire (1973) showed that factors such as the work itself, possibility for growth and recognition were described by hospital nursing supervisors as positively related to job satisfaction. Supervision and hygiene factors, on the other hand, were negatively associated with the nursing supervisors'job satisfaction. The nursing students' position in the hospital as compared with the professionals' would lead to a prediction of significant differences in the rating of job satisfaction. However, it was expected in the present study that the effects of socialization processes on the students would tend to minimize the differences in the rating of job satisfaction between the two groups. Hypotheses Specifically the following hypotheses were made: 1 There should be no significant differences between the ratings of the senior nursing personnel and student nurses on most of the self-image items. 2 There should be no significant differences between the job satisfaction ratings of the senior nursing personnel and student nurses. METHOD Subjects The subjects were made up of two distinct groups of 30 (21 female, 9 male)
31
i~
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
student and 23 professional or senior nursing personnel (16 female, 7 male) nurses. The student nurses were in their final year of a three-year training programme in government hospitals in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. At the end of a successful training the students would become professionally qualified as a Nigerian Registered Nurse (NRN) and would be employed as staff nurses. While in training a larger part of the nursing student's time was devoted to practical training in the wards (an average of 5 days a week). The student nurses were expected to read for their examinations as well as work fulltime for a minimum salary throughout their training period. All the final year nursing students in the government hospitals used by the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan, for their undergraduate teaching practice participated in the study. The professional nurses included 6 head nurses (2 men and 4 women), 4 assistant directors (or administrative sisters), 6 directors (or matrons), and 7 others. The professional nurses attended a 'Workshop of Inservice Education' for senior nursing personnel which was organized by the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan. All the participants present at the workshop participated in the study. Detailed characteristics of the subjects can be viewed in Table i. Procedure Two adapted instruments were employed in the present study. They were the Self-image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) and a Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). Selfimage of the nurse was used in the present study to denote the mental perception of oneself as a member of the nursing profession. The Self-image of the Nurse Scale consists of 21 statements designed to elicit the extent to which nursing is seen as a desirable and rewarding occupation. It is composed of both positive and negative statements about nursing which call primarily for opinion or value judgement which in turn is influenced by an individual's attitude or feeling towards the self. The scale includes both 'objective' and 'subjective' type items. Job satisfaction of a nurse is defined, for the purposes of this study, as a function of the extent to which 'needs' felt by a nurse are fulfilled by the details of the job that a nurse performs. The job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse was measured by the Job Satisfaction Scale. It is a 26 item scale which includes Herzberg's (1957) ten job related categories such as intrinsic aspect of the job, supervision, working conditions, wages, opportunities for advancement, security, company or organization management, social aspects of job, communication, and benefits. The professional nurses scored the SINS and the JSS during their workshop wliile the students scored them in their respective classes. In each case a subject was given a booklet containing 21 items which elicited the self-image of the nurse and 26 items which elicited job satisfaction as indicated in Tables 2 and 3. Likert-type scale responses Responses to the items were made on a Likert-type scale and the subjects were
Self-image and Job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse TABLE I
33
Characteristia of respondents by number and percentage
Characteristics
Student nurse n = 30
n Age 44 Sex Male Female
Respondents Professional nurse n == 23
n
/o
28
52-8
2 — —
3-8 — —
3 18
5-6 34-0
2
3-8 13-2 30-2
9
iyo
7
21
39-6
16
30 — —
566 — —
5
9-4
16
30-2
2
3-8
30 — — —
566 — — —
5 7 8 3
13-2 I5-I
30 —
j6-6 —
— — — —
— — — —
Marital status
Single Married Divorced No. of children
No children 1-2
3-4 5-6
94
57
Nursing status
Student Charge Nurse "\ u j M . . >or Mead Nurse Nursing Sister J Ad. Sister (Asst. Director) Matron (Director) Other Years of experience ii'3 7*5 J 7-5 II-3 13-3
30
566
— — —
— — —
4
7-5
14
26-5
5
9-4
30
56-6
—
Educational level
Dip. or less Dip.+ RN NRN B.Sc.
13
24-5
3 3 4
57 57 7-5
Field of employment
University teaching Teaching hospital Government hospital Private hospital Student Other
30 —
56-6 —
I
1-9
5
94
12
22-6
2
3-8 — 57
— 3
34
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
TABLE 2 Self-Image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) 1 Nuning gives one a chance to take an ideal amount of responsibility. 2 Because of the unusual working hours and other restrictions, nurses have relatively few chances to meet new and interesting people. 3 There are many otlier occupations for women which provide greater fmancial reward than nursing. 4 The nursing profession is respected more than most professions open to women. 5 The total cost to the student for nursing preparation is quite high. 6 More than any other occupation for women nursing provides opportunities for worthwhile service to humanity. 7 Nurses are more highly educated than women in other professions. 8 Generally speaking, nursing is an occupation chosen mostly by girls who wouldn't make satisfactory grades in college. 9 Nursing provides an excellent opportunity to put one's religious beliefs into practice. 10 The period of time required for graduation from a school of nursing is quite reasonable. 11 Nursing provides an excellent preparation for marriage and family life. 12 Nurses, on the average, are more intelligent than women in most other professions. 13 Most nurses can have fmancial independence because there are always opportunities for fulltime work. 14 Most of the tasks which a nurse performs are pleasant and interesting. 15 Nurses aren't really so very important in relieving suffering and helping the sick to regain health. 16 Many schools of nursing supervise and restrict the social life of the girls too much. 17 Many nurses are required to take too much responsibility on the job. 18 Nursing gives one a chance to meet and associate with many interesting persons. 19 Actually, many of the tasks which a nurse does could be done by someone else with much less education and skill. 20 The education required to become a nurse costs less than that for most other women's occupations. 21 Nurses must take and follow orders more than other employed women. TABLE 3 Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS) 1 When it comes to the fairness, good sense, and intentions of the higher administrative levels, much is left to be desired. 2 I feel that I am valued by the institution I work for. 3 Actually, my job has considerable appeal and desirability. 4 My supervisor exliibits a high degree of understanding. 5 The authority I have is sufficient to easily meet my responsibilities. 6 There are numerous economic advantages that my present position has over other jobs I might get. 7 My supervisor has difficulty delegating authority. 8 The people who work in the same area as I do seem to get along with each other quite well. 9 Often I feel that my supervisor is not providing me with the cooperation I should be receiving. 10 Ample opportunity is provided for one to advance on the basis of one's own merit. 11 Numerous opportunities to participate in the decision-making process are presented to me. 12 Retirement provisions are not very good. 13 The cooperation and group effort provided by my fellow employees is quite high. 14 Over all I would have to say my work is very interesting. 15 I am given ample opportunity to make decisions. contintied on page 3$
Self-image and Job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse
35
Table j continued 16 The opportunity for professional advancement is quite restricted. 17 The distribution of work, work load and routine demands is presently quite unsatisfactory. 18 My present position is appropriate for my aspirations and plans. 19 The institution makes little efiort to provide staff members with information on present organizational developments and future goals. 20 There are many opportunities for creativity and self-expression. 21 The physical surroundings of my job are clean and orderly. 22 My work schedule is such that the hours I work leave something to be desired. 23 Foresight and planning by the high administrative levels is quite satisfactory. 24 I personally get along very well with the doctors. 25 The institution makes little effort to provide staff members with information concerning new developments in my area. 26 I do not take a great deal of pride in belonging to the particular work group that I do.
asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with each statement on a continuum: 'strongly agree', 'agree', 'undecided', 'disagree', and 'strongly disagree'. For both scales the responses were weighted from five (5) to one (i) so that the high scores consistently indicate high satisfaction or high self-image and low scores indicate dissatisfaction or low self-image. For the favourable items 'strongly agree' was assigned a maximum of 5 points, wliile 'strongly disagree' was assigned a minimum of i point. For the unfavourable items the procedure was reversed. The midpoint which was designated'undecided' was assigned a weight of 3 points. The subjects read each part of the booklet that contained each scale and rated the items as each applied to each of the subjects. The development, validity and reliability of the original SINS are discussed at length by Haas (1957) while those of the JSS are discussed by Bellinger (1968) and Ugwuegbu (1968). RESULTS The analysis was based on t-tcst for independent groups that compared the selfimage and job satisfaction scores for the professional nurses with those of the student nurses.
Self-image The analysis indicated that only 5 items showed significant diflerences between the way professional nurses perceived the image of the Nigerian nurse and the way the student nurses perceived it. Item 5 {The total cost to the student for nursing preparation is quite high) showed
that the student nurses reported a significantly greater agreement with the statement than did the professional nurses, t(5i) = 37, P
Self-image and job satisfaction of tiie Nigerian nurse: a comparative study D. C. E. Ugwuegbu B.A. M.A. Ph.D. (Psychology) Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University oJ Ibadan
Winifred M. Ogundeyin S.R.N. S.C.M. O.N.C. C.I.(Ed.) B.Sc. M.S. (Nursing) Lecturer, Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan Accepted for publication 17 August
igy6
UGWUEGBU D . C . E . & OGUNDEYIN WINIFRED M . [1977) Journal of Advanced Nursing 2, 29-39
Self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse: a comparative study Congruity or lack of it between the perception of student and professional nurses about the self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse was examined. The expectation was that as a result of the socialization processes involved in nursing education, the student nurse and the senior nursing professionals (who are the socializing agents) should not differ significantly on their ratings on the self-image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse. The subjects were 30 male and female student nurses and 23 male and female professional nurses who scored the Self-Image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) and the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The results showed that the student and the professional nurses were minimally differentiated in their perception of the self-image of the Nigerian nurse. On the whole the student nurses were more dissatisfied with nursing than the professional nurses. The occupational position of the student nurse was said to have been partially responsible for the differences.
REVIEW OF T H E
LITERATURE
The nursing profession is one of the earliest western type of occupations that was open to Nigerian women. It is a profession that is held in high esteem by most Nigerians (Davitz 1972a). In nursing, more women than men hold the top administrative positions as well as the general staff level positions. This is contrary to what obtains in other so-called women's professions such as teaching where the top positions are held by men (Ugwuegbu 1968). The nursing profession in Nigeria has a history of religious orientation. That is, until recently, most of the hospital-orientated institutions of nursing education were church affiliated. The church orientation of these institutions may be 29
30
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
responsible for the traditional, conservative and authoritarian stance, vnth emphasis on humanitarianism, which is often adopted by the nursing profession.
Congmence The professional nurse acts as the guardian of values basic to the effective practice of nursing in Nigeria. The nurse roles are defined by the matrons and other members of the senior nursing staff while the student nurse is expected to conform to these professional expectations. Non-conformity to the expectations may result in the student's expulsion from the programme. To minimize risking such an undesirable consequence a young Nigerian girl who enters an institution for nursing education undergoes major changes in modes of behaviour, interpersonal relationships and role expectations (Stein 1969). Such changes are aimed at the achievement of congruence between the student nurse's self-image and the professional image. Achievement of congruence may reduce conflict, stress, and increase adjustment and job satisfaction of tlie nurse.
Professional socialization O'Rourke (1963) investigated the impact of educational environment upon the development of a professional self-image. The results revealed that the student nurse tended to choose nursing as a career with an ill-defined image of the profession. She also observed that the professional development of the students was a 'gradual process which developed in a fairly observable sequence from generalized societal concepts of nursing to personal identification with a professional view point'. In one of her interesting studies on the Nigerian student nurses Davitz (1972 a & b) showed that the first to third years of training for the Nigerian nurse could be considered a period of socialization during which the greater demands made on the student served as anticipatory socialization into her future role as a nurse. The generality of the implied socialization processes involved in nursing education is supported by O'Neill (1975) who showed that the most similarity in nursing students' and faculty members' values occurred during the junior year, with progressive dissimilarity in the nurses' senior year. Olesen & Davis (1966) questioned the assumption that professional socialization induced among students a greater consensus of outlook on their chosen profession, along with a closer psychological 'fit' between what they perceive and value in the profession. The validity of Olesen & Davis's position is questionable since it is inconsistent with the massive literature in psychology which shows that professional socialization leads to intemalization of the values and attitudes of the socializing agent on whom the redpient is in effect dependent. Lack of congruence or failure to internalize is regarded as stressful (Argyris 1964, Bidwell i955. Ugwuegbu 1968). Rassmussen & Zander (1954) showed that those subjects who conformed to the expectations of the group felt more successful than those who did not. Recently O'Neill (1975) indicated that when an adolescent chose a
Self-image and fob satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse career the tendency was to incorporate his future occupational status into his present self-image. O'Neill's conclusion is very pertinent to the present study. Our study assumed that as the training or education of the Nigerian student nurse progressed, the student's perception of her professional image as well as her job satisfaction would tend to attain congruence with those of the socializing agents (teachers and administrators). Purpose of the study The general purpose of the present study was, therefore, to assess how similar to the values of the senior nursing personnel are those of the students; and whether there are some psychological 'fits' between the way the professional nursing personnel perceive and rate the image of the nursing profession and job satisfaction within the profession and the way student nurses do. The student nurses would be expected to be higher on their ratings on self-image of the nurse than the professional nurses since the students' ideal image of the profession has been subjected to less reality testing as compared to that of the professional nurses. The students' rating ofjob satisfaction would be lower than that of the professional nurses. The greater job dissatisfaction among the student nurses would result from the fact of their being occupants of the lowest position in the hospital hierarchy ofauthority and decision-making (Ugwuegbu 1974). As compared with the professional nurses the position of the student nurses provides them with less opportunities for creative and challenging work than the professionals. White & Maguire (1973) showed that factors such as the work itself, possibility for growth and recognition were described by hospital nursing supervisors as positively related to job satisfaction. Supervision and hygiene factors, on the other hand, were negatively associated with the nursing supervisors'job satisfaction. The nursing students' position in the hospital as compared with the professionals' would lead to a prediction of significant differences in the rating of job satisfaction. However, it was expected in the present study that the effects of socialization processes on the students would tend to minimize the differences in the rating of job satisfaction between the two groups. Hypotheses Specifically the following hypotheses were made: 1 There should be no significant differences between the ratings of the senior nursing personnel and student nurses on most of the self-image items. 2 There should be no significant differences between the job satisfaction ratings of the senior nursing personnel and student nurses. METHOD Subjects The subjects were made up of two distinct groups of 30 (21 female, 9 male)
31
i~
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
student and 23 professional or senior nursing personnel (16 female, 7 male) nurses. The student nurses were in their final year of a three-year training programme in government hospitals in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. At the end of a successful training the students would become professionally qualified as a Nigerian Registered Nurse (NRN) and would be employed as staff nurses. While in training a larger part of the nursing student's time was devoted to practical training in the wards (an average of 5 days a week). The student nurses were expected to read for their examinations as well as work fulltime for a minimum salary throughout their training period. All the final year nursing students in the government hospitals used by the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan, for their undergraduate teaching practice participated in the study. The professional nurses included 6 head nurses (2 men and 4 women), 4 assistant directors (or administrative sisters), 6 directors (or matrons), and 7 others. The professional nurses attended a 'Workshop of Inservice Education' for senior nursing personnel which was organized by the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan. All the participants present at the workshop participated in the study. Detailed characteristics of the subjects can be viewed in Table i. Procedure Two adapted instruments were employed in the present study. They were the Self-image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) and a Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). Selfimage of the nurse was used in the present study to denote the mental perception of oneself as a member of the nursing profession. The Self-image of the Nurse Scale consists of 21 statements designed to elicit the extent to which nursing is seen as a desirable and rewarding occupation. It is composed of both positive and negative statements about nursing which call primarily for opinion or value judgement which in turn is influenced by an individual's attitude or feeling towards the self. The scale includes both 'objective' and 'subjective' type items. Job satisfaction of a nurse is defined, for the purposes of this study, as a function of the extent to which 'needs' felt by a nurse are fulfilled by the details of the job that a nurse performs. The job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse was measured by the Job Satisfaction Scale. It is a 26 item scale which includes Herzberg's (1957) ten job related categories such as intrinsic aspect of the job, supervision, working conditions, wages, opportunities for advancement, security, company or organization management, social aspects of job, communication, and benefits. The professional nurses scored the SINS and the JSS during their workshop wliile the students scored them in their respective classes. In each case a subject was given a booklet containing 21 items which elicited the self-image of the nurse and 26 items which elicited job satisfaction as indicated in Tables 2 and 3. Likert-type scale responses Responses to the items were made on a Likert-type scale and the subjects were
Self-image and Job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse TABLE I
33
Characteristia of respondents by number and percentage
Characteristics
Student nurse n = 30
n Age 44 Sex Male Female
Respondents Professional nurse n == 23
n
/o
28
52-8
2 — —
3-8 — —
3 18
5-6 34-0
2
3-8 13-2 30-2
9
iyo
7
21
39-6
16
30 — —
566 — —
5
9-4
16
30-2
2
3-8
30 — — —
566 — — —
5 7 8 3
13-2 I5-I
30 —
j6-6 —
— — — —
— — — —
Marital status
Single Married Divorced No. of children
No children 1-2
3-4 5-6
94
57
Nursing status
Student Charge Nurse "\ u j M . . >or Mead Nurse Nursing Sister J Ad. Sister (Asst. Director) Matron (Director) Other Years of experience ii'3 7*5 J 7-5 II-3 13-3
30
566
— — —
— — —
4
7-5
14
26-5
5
9-4
30
56-6
—
Educational level
Dip. or less Dip.+ RN NRN B.Sc.
13
24-5
3 3 4
57 57 7-5
Field of employment
University teaching Teaching hospital Government hospital Private hospital Student Other
30 —
56-6 —
I
1-9
5
94
12
22-6
2
3-8 — 57
— 3
34
D. C. E. Ugwuegbu and W. M. Ogundeyin
TABLE 2 Self-Image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) 1 Nuning gives one a chance to take an ideal amount of responsibility. 2 Because of the unusual working hours and other restrictions, nurses have relatively few chances to meet new and interesting people. 3 There are many otlier occupations for women which provide greater fmancial reward than nursing. 4 The nursing profession is respected more than most professions open to women. 5 The total cost to the student for nursing preparation is quite high. 6 More than any other occupation for women nursing provides opportunities for worthwhile service to humanity. 7 Nurses are more highly educated than women in other professions. 8 Generally speaking, nursing is an occupation chosen mostly by girls who wouldn't make satisfactory grades in college. 9 Nursing provides an excellent opportunity to put one's religious beliefs into practice. 10 The period of time required for graduation from a school of nursing is quite reasonable. 11 Nursing provides an excellent preparation for marriage and family life. 12 Nurses, on the average, are more intelligent than women in most other professions. 13 Most nurses can have fmancial independence because there are always opportunities for fulltime work. 14 Most of the tasks which a nurse performs are pleasant and interesting. 15 Nurses aren't really so very important in relieving suffering and helping the sick to regain health. 16 Many schools of nursing supervise and restrict the social life of the girls too much. 17 Many nurses are required to take too much responsibility on the job. 18 Nursing gives one a chance to meet and associate with many interesting persons. 19 Actually, many of the tasks which a nurse does could be done by someone else with much less education and skill. 20 The education required to become a nurse costs less than that for most other women's occupations. 21 Nurses must take and follow orders more than other employed women. TABLE 3 Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS) 1 When it comes to the fairness, good sense, and intentions of the higher administrative levels, much is left to be desired. 2 I feel that I am valued by the institution I work for. 3 Actually, my job has considerable appeal and desirability. 4 My supervisor exliibits a high degree of understanding. 5 The authority I have is sufficient to easily meet my responsibilities. 6 There are numerous economic advantages that my present position has over other jobs I might get. 7 My supervisor has difficulty delegating authority. 8 The people who work in the same area as I do seem to get along with each other quite well. 9 Often I feel that my supervisor is not providing me with the cooperation I should be receiving. 10 Ample opportunity is provided for one to advance on the basis of one's own merit. 11 Numerous opportunities to participate in the decision-making process are presented to me. 12 Retirement provisions are not very good. 13 The cooperation and group effort provided by my fellow employees is quite high. 14 Over all I would have to say my work is very interesting. 15 I am given ample opportunity to make decisions. contintied on page 3$
Self-image and Job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse
35
Table j continued 16 The opportunity for professional advancement is quite restricted. 17 The distribution of work, work load and routine demands is presently quite unsatisfactory. 18 My present position is appropriate for my aspirations and plans. 19 The institution makes little efiort to provide staff members with information on present organizational developments and future goals. 20 There are many opportunities for creativity and self-expression. 21 The physical surroundings of my job are clean and orderly. 22 My work schedule is such that the hours I work leave something to be desired. 23 Foresight and planning by the high administrative levels is quite satisfactory. 24 I personally get along very well with the doctors. 25 The institution makes little effort to provide staff members with information concerning new developments in my area. 26 I do not take a great deal of pride in belonging to the particular work group that I do.
asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with each statement on a continuum: 'strongly agree', 'agree', 'undecided', 'disagree', and 'strongly disagree'. For both scales the responses were weighted from five (5) to one (i) so that the high scores consistently indicate high satisfaction or high self-image and low scores indicate dissatisfaction or low self-image. For the favourable items 'strongly agree' was assigned a maximum of 5 points, wliile 'strongly disagree' was assigned a minimum of i point. For the unfavourable items the procedure was reversed. The midpoint which was designated'undecided' was assigned a weight of 3 points. The subjects read each part of the booklet that contained each scale and rated the items as each applied to each of the subjects. The development, validity and reliability of the original SINS are discussed at length by Haas (1957) while those of the JSS are discussed by Bellinger (1968) and Ugwuegbu (1968). RESULTS The analysis was based on t-tcst for independent groups that compared the selfimage and job satisfaction scores for the professional nurses with those of the student nurses.
Self-image The analysis indicated that only 5 items showed significant diflerences between the way professional nurses perceived the image of the Nigerian nurse and the way the student nurses perceived it. Item 5 {The total cost to the student for nursing preparation is quite high) showed
that the student nurses reported a significantly greater agreement with the statement than did the professional nurses, t(5i) = 37, P
